Who pays for water use !!!

[jim1964]

Hi All,

Over our portfolio,water usage up to 136kl and the supply cost has always been paid by us,the owners.
Recently we have bought another two properties,and the tenants pay the supply cost and all water usage.Both houses are residential.
Curious what other investors have in place to cover these charges.

 

[wylie]

Hi All,

Over our portfolio,water usage up to 136kl and the supply cost has always been paid by us,the owners.
Recently we have bought another two properties,and the tenants pay the supply cost and all water usage.Both houses are residential.
Curious what other investors have in place to cover these charges.

Are you sure the tenants pay the "supply" costs or just the water usage. In Queensland they cannot be charged for the "supply" costs. Maybe different rules for different states?

We have to ensure there are water saving shower heads and toilets before being able to even pass on the usage costs.

 

[lizzie]

In NSW to charge the tenant usage (only) the property has to be separately metered, and has to have water efficent outlets (shower heads, taps, toilets) certified by a plumber.

 

[jim1964]

I checked the lease,and it states .supply charge and usage.This is in SA.

 

[zepth]

In NSW to charge the tenant usage (only) the property has to be separately metered, and has to have water efficent outlets (shower heads, taps, toilets) certified by a plumber.

in NSW toilets dont even have to be efficient. Only requirement is that showerhead, bathroom tap and kitchen tap are flow limited to <9L/min

 

[pully]

properties in sa, landlord pays supply charges. usage is billed to the tenant in some leases an allowance is given and they pay the excess.

have never seen a lease where the tenant is charged the supply charge in sa.

residential tenancies would provide the rules/law in that regard.

 

[DistinctPM]

This is from the South Australian Residential Tenancies Regulations 2010

12—Prescribed limit—water rates (section 73 of Act)
For the purposes of section 73(3) of the Act, the limit up to which the landlord will
bear rates and charges for water supply in the absence of an agreement on the matter
under section 73(2) of the Act is fixed at—
(a) the supply charge for the premises under Part 5 of the Waterworks Act 1932;
and
(b) the water rate for the supply to the premises of 136 kilolitres of water for each
financial year

Section 53, Part 2 (b) of the Tenancies Act allows the Landlord to charge for the supply charges as well as usage

My reading of this to charge for usage over 136Kl you would need to have it written into the Tenancy Agreement in order to get the tenants to pay.

It varies from State to State, in Canberra you can only charge for water usage and the landlord is required to cover the supply costs.

Hope this is useful info.

Cheers

 

[jim1964]

Cheers for the info.If Section 53,part 2 allows this in SA.on all our lease renewals........guess what.User Pays!!

 

[wylie]

Cheers for the info.If Section 53,part 2 allows this in SA.on all our lease renewals........guess what.User Pays!!

Shame it doesn't work in other states. The water "supply" portion of the account is usually about three quarters of the total bill.

 

[Scott No Mates]

If only all states were equal. It pays to know the particularities of the lease which applies in your states esp if you have IPs around the country.

 

[arg821]

I checked the lease,and it states .supply charge and usage.This is in SA.

I have a mixture - some tenants pay everything, others pay just the usage. Might have to check exactly what is supposed to happen on that one .... (in SA). My QLD ones I can only charge usage, after paying for some sort of water compliance check.

 

[YCPM]

In SA you can legally charge the tenant the quarterly supply charge and all water use provided it is written into your lease agreement.

 

[Newbieatlife]

dammit! Just got back from qld to do minor renos on a house and forgot to put in new taps!

Anyone know rough cost for a plumber to change 3 taps + 2 showers inc. parts + labour??

 

[Corey Batt]

The agency I work closely with has 125kl + supply as standard.